Manny Diaz

Chair, Florida Democratic Party

Former Mayor, Miami, FL

Former President, U.S. Conference of Mayors

A force in local, state, and national politics for nearly four decades, Manny Diaz was first elected City of Miami Mayor in 2001. He was re-elected to a second term in 2005, and was chosen to lead the United States Conference of Mayors as its president in 2008. During his two-term tenure, Diaz was recognized for completely transforming the City of Miami, and for many nationally recognized innovative programs in the areas of urban design, sustainability and green initiatives, education, infrastructure investment, affordable housing, law enforcement, poverty and homelessness, and arts and culture.

Diaz is a member of the Board of Directors of OUTFRONT Media, Inc. (NYSE: OUT). He also serves or has served on various commissions and cultural, educational, and volunteer boards including: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Bloomberg Philanthropies, University of Pennsylvania Institute for Urban Research, League of Conservation Voters, Mayors’ Institute on City Design, Fair Districts Florida, Florida Red & Blue, Florida After School Network, Sustainable Cities Institute, U.S. Green Building Council- South Florida Chapter; and the Florida Steering Committee for The Children’s Movement of Florida, among many others. He is a former member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council/U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In recognition of his efforts, Diaz has received almost 100 awards and recognitions including, America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News, World Report, and The Center for Public Leadership (Kennedy School of Government); Top 100 City Innovators Worldwide by UBM Future Cities; 100 Most Influential Latinos Committed To Climate Action; Hispanic Business- 50 Influentials; United States Conference of Mayors- President’s Award; the AIA (Miami Chapter)- Governmental Leadership Award; Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce Power Leader of the Year and Green Visionary Awards; Poder Hispanic Magazine Climate Award of the Year and was named an Outstanding American by Choice by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Mayor Diaz served as a Resident Fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, and is the author of Miami Transformed: Rebuilding America One Neighborhood, One City at a Time. Mayor Diaz is currently serving as Chair of the Florida Democratic Party and is on leave from his prior position as senior partner at Lydecker.